ARTEMIS FOWL:And The Caper at Howler's Peak
by Kagey-Usagi
Summary: nearly two and a half years after Artemis Fowl's memories were erased, there comes a strange plee for help from an even stranger benefactor, and once again Artemis Fowl finds himself propelled into the world of the Fairies.
1. Chapter 1

Artemis Fowl: The Caper at Howlers Keep

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl in any way shape or form

Excerpt from the diary of Artemis Fowl: "I shall unleash my plague upon the earth, a crime wave the likes of which have never been seen before. The world will remember the name of Artemis Fowl…"

The Iron Gate to Fowl manor hung slightly ajar. For a thief, that was just about the last thing you wanted to do when robbing Fowl Manner as Butler could spot a fruit fly in the surveillance monitors. The slightest sign of intrusion and that poor little fruit fly will hate you forever for getting it incinerated by the nuclear missile headed your way. Of course, there weren't many thieves stupid enough to rob a house belonging to the greatest criminal mastermind of the time with such a lame precaution being their only means of escape. Unless it was all done intentionally, and the message was "catch me if you can".

Butler had spent the nearly two and a half years since his untimely brush with mortality sharpening his talents as a body guard. He seemed to recognize that something was amiss, as the incident itself had left him half as capable as he had been before. However, as Butler didn't remember why he seemed to have grown old over night, due to Foaly's mind wipe, his inability to perform as he once did constantly frustrated him. But the frustration also fed his determination to better himself. He had discovered many ways of conserving oxygen and reducing his own exertion by channeling his chi. He had also sharpened his mind so acutely in attack and defense tactics, scenario execution, abstract resourcefulness etc., that in a battle of wit, Butler was unbeatable. Unfortunately, Artemis's wild adventures were hardly ever theoretical, so Butler quite often found himself left at home, or stuck doing lookout.

In fact Butler found himself becoming increasingly bored. So bored, it took him a while to realize "Oh my goodness, the gate is open." It hadn't been a minute ago. It was strange, he hadn't seen anyone there. It seemed to open almost by magic. Just before Butler leapt to his feet he caught a glimpse of the person just as they passed out of the screen. They seemed to be heading to the front door which was odd, but it was also odd that they seemed to be far smaller than an adult. But in the end, as Butler ran for the door as fast as his disability would allow, he decided that it didn't matter. Anyone capable of getting to the front door without tripping any of the security alarms was a danger to the principal and had to be dealt with.

Let's face it, whoever was on the other side of the door was dead unless they could come up with the most gut wrenchingly unexpected sentence in all history. Butler swung in the door, simultaneously taking aim and found a little girl in a long black coat, with tiny freckles and long dark brown hair she had tied back in a long French braid. And most strikingly, she had stunning blue eyes. Everything she wore was black, except a little gold locket hung around her neck and a silver chain that hung down below the rim of the shirt neck. She stared up at Butler with her piercing blue eyes and said "Hello, Domovoi."

Fowl Manor was always beautiful this time of year. The early morning sun was shining through the puffy clouds in dusty glowing rays like it does in romantic paintings. The crystal water was trickling noisily and sparkling in the outside fountain; and the small chubby birds were chittering excitedly in the expertly manicured trees.

Artemis Fowl was sitting at the dining room table having finished the breakfast Butler had prepared for him. He took a moment to think and enjoy his glass of tomato juice. If in fact Artemis Fowl could enjoy anything. Ever since he had lost his memories of the People, Artemis also lost every shed of the person he was becoming. There were only certain times when he was watching his parents that he thought he could be like them, but in the vast expanses of time between those brief experiences, he was exactly like he was before he had ever come in contact with the fairy people, and before he had met Holly.

Looking at Artemis as he sat at the table with the morning light from the tall white-paned window pouring over him, he would seem to have grown considerably. He was tall and slender, but not thin. Having noticed Butler's physical decline, Artemis had taken it upon himself to be able to perform in difficult situations. This had taken some time away from his plans to expand the family fortune, but now he was adequately strong and agile and an exceptional marksman. His face was more mature, which pleased him as appearances were everything, but his hair tended to fall into his face, not wanting to be gelled back in the business style it had always been in, no matter how he tried to make it stay. He still wore his two piece suits on business and at home, but today he was wearing his boarding school uniform. He was planning on showing up for a short time and then leaving under the pretense of having had an episode. Then he would be off to Italy, where he was sure to find a certain pair of golden amulets he was very interested in. they had once belonged to the Medici's. They were said to have been buried with the last of the family, but in a recent excavation when the graves were unearthed, the amulets were no where to be found, supposedly stolen around the time of the famous flood. The Medici's had been very smart, the way they constructed the tombs to fend off grave robbers had made it difficult for even modern scientists to enter. And when they found nothing, and the graves in disarray from being so unceremoniously plundered, it had all seemed for not. They had, however, overlooked one very important detail and Artemis intended to exploit it.

It was going to be tricky. Artemis thought, smirking. It was a vampire's smile. That was another thing that was different about him, he was starting to take great pleasure in his work as a thief. It was exciting. He had always been the hunter, but… somehow this was different.

He got up, leaving his plate at the table, but taking his half finished glass of tomato juice with him. He headed up the curved staircase and down the hall to his room. He was lost in his own thoughts and plans. Half of the fun of his job was the anticipation. His mother was away at a hot spring on Okinawa, and his father was away on a business call, they both weren't scheduled to be back within three days at the least, and he was off to do what he did best. Not a bad way to spend one's sixteenth birthday.

Artemis reached for the handle of the door to his room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl

Artemis opened the door to his room and stepped inside, but looked up and let out a startled yelp. He hopped backwards and sloshed a portion of his tomato juice into his hair and on the side of his face. He quickly wiped it out of his eye and stared speechlessly in the direction of his desk, while the juice in his hair dripped down onto the floor and his brain registered the following:

There was a girl sitting in his comfy leather desk chair with her feet on his desk. She had a child's big blue, bell shaped eyes with long dark lashes and sparse fading freckles across her nose. She was fiddling with a little gold locket around her neck. The boots she had on his desk were like a cross between combat boots and sleek women's dress boots with an eight inch heel. They had laces all the way up to where they ended at about mid thigh and fastened to her black shorts, with buckles across the bridge of the foot and spaced artistically up the leg. The rest of her articles included a heavy midnight blue coat with tails that stood no more than two inches above the ground.

She smiled sweetly back at him and giggled slightly at the red liquid soaking into his black school uniform. Artemis seemed at a loss for words for a moment or two but then asked dully "Who are you? What do you want here?"

She smiled congenially as she spoke "You know, you were right when you said it would take eternity to crack that encryption code." She paused, then rose from her seat and started walking in Artemis's direction. It was odd, but the way she spoke, so clearly, gave you the sense that someone else was listening. She decided to answer his second question, "I need your help".

"And by that you mean information?"

"What makes you say that?" she replied almost amused.

" You said encryption code, implying some sort of encrypted technology as that is the only medium I work in. though you quoted me on something I myself do not remember saying. It would appear then that by "help" you mean help with operating said technology or revealing the purpose of the encrypted information. Perhaps in the past you had managed somehow to get part of that in formation from me, as I guess from your unwarranted, unnoticed access to my home and feigned familiarity, but once you thought you were done with me you realized I had concealed something further, and thus you have returned".

"I would think that you would remember if all that happened."

"There are many reasons why I would forget." His expression explained what he meant. "I am guessing that Butler is already dead."

"A corpse is evidence, Artemis. Especially one as big as Butler. Besides, Butler is almost as valuable to me as you are." She said nostalgically.

"Crippled then" Artemis ventured, becoming more and more annoyed by her familiar tone. "His mind would be what you are after, is it not. His body is hardly an asset anymore".

Artemis had evaluated the subject in front of him. It was obvious that she was a skilled Metal man…Woman…girl (she couldn't have been older than twelve) he noticed that there was a small slit at both the toe and the teal of her boots, obviously for a built in switch blade. And there were many other signs Artemis recognized from his long years and training sessions with Butler.

Whoever she was's mood changed slightly. She seemed troubled now and wore a forlorn expression. "I have no time for this. I came to request your help, Artemis. It is up to you if you assist me or not. You won't understand what I am talking about before you accept because what I need has been repressed from your memories. Though you must know that the circumstances were nothing like what you just described, and it was not I who repressed your memories. I can give you no viable reason to trust me. I could threaten you with your life and the lives of everyone you hold dear to help me, but the situation at hand is centered so exclusively around your conscious cooperation that any perversion would send everything crashing down." She paused and, for less than a second, looked lost, like a forgotten duckling who had strayed and been forgotten. Then however, her previous melancholy composure returned and she finished her monologue with a strong proposition. "Butler is fine, Artemis. The worst that could happen is he has a bump when he wakes up.

She smiled again, but this time it was different. She seemed to have a smile expected of Artemis Fowl. "You said that 'his body is hardly an asset any longer'. Have you no recollection why? Butler nearly dies saving your life. You freeze his body and bring him back to life. You destroy his future and you say that he is worthless. You killed Butler, Artemis Fowl! And you don't even remember it."

Artemis felt his head suddenly try to split in two. That was sometimes that case when repressed memories suddenly tried to resurface. The subjects mind would replace the repressed memories with new ones in order to fill in the gaps, and when the old memories start to come back, the conscious mind says "no, this is wrong!" and often emphasizes the point by associating the incoming information with pain. Artemis could hardly see strait, but was finally interested. He wanted to know what she was talking about because she was apparently telling the truth. What could the circumstances have been for that to have truly happened to Butler? But that would also explain his sudden aging.

"I'm sorry, that must be painful." She said, though Artemis didn't entirely hear her, and only regained his focus when he felt her applying pressure to key points on his head "At least now you know I'm telling the truth".

"What was it you were saying about Butler?" he asked, breaking indignantly from her grasp.

Whoever she was stepped back so that they could talk at a comfortable distance.

"Look at my eyes, Artemis. I can heal Butler. And I will. I will also give you back your memories, and as payment for your services, I will give you more gold than even you can spend in a lifetime."

She wasn't lying. "That would seem a very generous trade on your part for just information or a single piece of technology. What is it you truly want?"

"I- "At that moment, the girl seemed to feel something and pulled back her sleeve to look at her watch. Artemis could see a tiny red Butler rise from the floor and start making his way through the three dimensional blueprints of Fowl Manor. Whoever-she-was suddenly grabbed Artemis's wrist and found his pulse so fast Artemis hardly saw her move. "Artemis! Are you or are you not interested in my proposition" her eyes blazed up at Artemis.

"I am. I would, however, like an answer to my question when time allows."

"Understood," she said truly grateful, relaxing. Then motioned toward the door "But you'll never get it if I'm dead."

True enough. Artemis went to his door and waited outside the room for Butler to come racing up the stairs.

"Artemis!"

"I know, Butler."

"You're injured." Butler lamented, striding down the hall until he was close enough to see that it was only tomato juice.

"Not just yet." Artemis said amusedly, remembering that he was soaked in tomato juice. "Our guest has a proposition I think you should hear. Do you recall some time ago when we two and Juliet found those odd contact lenses in our eyes, that I had apparently ordered myself, but none of us could recall could remember for what purpose I had done so?"

"I do" Butler said glaring resentfully at the girl when he saw her.

"This girl has mentioned suppressed memories, and has described a scenario that would explain your sudden physical difficulty (Butler Winced). She has also offered to restore what we have lost in both cases in exchange for our services in-?" Artemis motioned for the girl to continue.

"I need your help to save my father."

Artemis was slightly confused. He had expected something different

"He is being kept in a place you would only recognize when I restore your memories." She explained "and I assure you, when I do, you will understand what the job entails and why I need you."

Artemis walked as he considered what she had said and stepped into his bathroom to wash the tomato juice out of his hair. "What do you think Butler?"

It was painfully obvious that Butler wanted nothing more than to be back to the way he was, but tried none the less to Fein indifference. "If a portion of our memories has been repressed, it would most likely be to our advantage to remember what it was they wanted us to forget."

"Very well." Artemis admitted, patting the side of his head with a white fluffy towel as he stepped out of the bathroom. "We accept. I am also interested in the gold you mentioned earlier." Considering the given arguments, and considering all possible outcomes, Artemis felt fairly safe in his decision. Though if he knew who he was dealing with he may have reconsidered. He may not have.

'Of course' thought Butler 'I knew there had to be some kind of money involved.' Though Butler still wasn't sure about this girl who reminded him so much of another certain someone. To coin a famous quote, Butler thought 'I don't know why, but the little --- scares me.'

Whoever-she-was's eyes glowed as she smiled triumphantly inside. "Excellent." She then pressed a concealed button somewhere on her person and Artemis and Butler both collapsed to the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not by any means claim to own Artemis Fowl

Holly Short loved her Job, she really did, but it was at times like this that she would say that she didn't. Holly was part of the reconnaissance squad. Their job was to fly to the surface and bring back any fairy that had gone upstairs without a visa. Usually they came quietly, aside from a great deal of frustrated cursing. Mostly they were just homesick fairies who missed the fresh air. But sometimes there were those that needed…persuasion

"Where is he, Foaly?" Holly growled angrily into her helmet microphone.

"Calm down, Holly," replied the centaur "if you would kindly open your eyes, he should be staring you right in the face."

"There's nothing there, this place is a wall of solid gray."

"Solid gray?" He paused, thinking "That's odd. What time is it?" he glanced up at the digital clock in the upper left corner of his plasma screen. It showed the time wherever Holly's helmet happened to be.

"20:25," Holly confirmed it.

"Shouldn't you be getting a reading from the rocks or something?"

"I'm in the middle of a forest, Foaly. The sun set a few minutes ago so I can't refer to it. Not that it matters, it probably doesn't even touch the ground here."

"That's the thing, Holly. It doesn't touch the ground because it's caught by the trees. You should be seeing a big difference in the tree tops. If not, then you must not be collecting data. If that's the case, you might just have to switch to night vision."

While Foaly was talking, Holly took off her right glove to test her reading herself. Her hand was just as gay as everything else, and as the glow over the horizon began to fade her visor screen grew gradually darker. Holly made the switch without comment, but in her head it was a different story. She hated night vision. It was better than trying to see in the dark, but only just.

As the green hue came over her screen, Holly could see thin lines of static. "I don't think it's just my heat vision. My night vision is out of whack too. There's static, and it's getting worse."

"You'd better stop then and find somewhere safe to run a system's check. I don't want you chasing a pixie out there is you can't even see. You know how they've been lately."

"It doesn't make any sense." Holly knew first hand 'how they've been lately'. She had been chasing a pixie just a few days before. It had flown across the Atlantic to New York City, strapped a fire extinguisher to its back and was walking parallel to the ground on the side of a building just above the sea of gawking mud men. It wasn't ever made clear what exactly the extinguisher was for, but that little spectacle had won the goblin a ticket strait to Howler's Keep. And just in time, ever since the B'wa Kell incident, the goblin population seemed to have gone completely wild and Howler's Keep had been rapidly filling, until extinguisher boy was the very last one that would fit. Because every time a goblin was released, they went right out and did something that put them right back in again. It was like they were thinking of how they could get in, and the thought was a contagious disease.

…Actually it was a virus. A viralthought. Not that Holly knew that, or any of the rest of the fairies for that matter, and much less why. But they would soon enough. Of course, none of them had ever been violent. Resentful, but not violent. Which was odd, but it was nearly constant so Holly didn't feel she was in too much danger. Though darn it wouldn't you know, nearly doesn't cut it. Something collided with the back of Holly's helmet. A rock. Holly spun around, stepped back and crouched down, bringing out her Neutrino 2001 (a special new model, to Foaly's smug satisfaction.) and pointed it in the direction the projectile had come from. There, in the staticy green branches of the tree was a pair of reflective goblin eyes and a pointy toothed smile, like a reptilian Cheshire cat. It cackled with glee at Holly's reaction, then hopped to a different branch and threw the rock in its other hand. Holly was able to dodge it, but when she looked up again, the goblin was gone. She looked around but it was hard to make anything out as the static got worse. She was concentrating extremely hard when: "Holly? What's wrong?" came over her helmet speaker.

Understandably, Holly jumped nearly out of her skin.

"Oh, sorry." Foaly resigned, watching Holly's heart rate erupt on his plasma screen.

"I found him. He's up in the trees," she informed him "But I can't see anything through this static. I'm gonna have to get out of here."

"Be careful, and don't use your wings. If he hits you in the air with a fireball it won't be good."

"I'm not a complete simpleton, Foaly. I've been through the training."

"Not a complete simpleton huh?" Foaly mocked over the speaker "tell me, how long would it have taken you to realize you had a glitch in your helmet ops if I hadn't have chimed in, hmmm? And I told you didn't I, to find someplace to lay low and run a systems check, but noooo. You stand there-"

"Ok, Foaly. You can gloat all you want when I get back, but now isn't the time."

"You say that but-"

"Foaly! Ugh."

"Holly! You all right?"

Holly ignored him. That last rock had hit her square in the chest so she was out of breath anyway. It didn't make any sense. Why would a goblin find a rock to throw when he could conjure up a fireball instead? That was one of the wonderful things about goblins, they were born with the ability to conjure fire. Holly's head jerked from side to side as she tried to see through gaps in the static when she saw a faint glow creep into the corner of her visor screen. The air, she noticed, began to grow warm behind her. The goblin must have set fire to a tree. Holly knew better than to turn and look as the light would blind her with her enhanced vision. Instead she moved quickly forward, setting her steps carefully so as not to trip. But then she saw something move up in the tree above her. She raised her weapon, but before she could find her target, the goblin had jumped down and had landed on her with a blazing hand holding tightly to her helmet visor. Holly cried out in pain as she was blinded by the light.

"Holly!" Foaly cried helplessly, but Holly whipped off her helmet and used it like a medieval spiky club and smashed it against the goblin's head, knocking him unconscious. Holly blinked and steadied herself but still couldn't see past the black opalescent cloud in her eyes. "D'arvit." She cursed in frustration. She blindly grabbed the unconscious goblin, very unceremoniously, engaged her humming bird wings and shot up through the trees where she remembered the branches being thin. It would be better to chance banging your head than getting burned like a blind stink worm. High above the tree tops, Holly allowed herself to get reoriented, blinking repeatedly to regain her vision. But when she did she felt her stomach drop. The fire was spreading, fortunately very slowly, but it was still spreading. And Holly knew that she had nothing to put it out. She stared at the flames for only a moment, then looked around for anything she could work with.

"Come on Holly, think!" she rose higher in the air and spotted a small pond about two hundred meters away. "Good enough." She said aloud. Holly swooped back down and deposited her drooling charge far out of harm's way, then headed as fast as her winged pack could take her to the infant body of water. Form her jumpsuit pocket, Holly produced three capsules, which as it happened could hold almost a gallon of water each; and one by one she took them in hand and dragged it through the silty mud along the bank until every one was full. Then she darted back and dropped down into the heart of eye of the fire. To start with, she set down a stun grenade to maximize the blast, piled the three capsules on top of it, then stepped way back, set her Neutrino to the highest setting, took aim and fired. The grenade exploded with light and muffled sound and sent al three gallons of slimy pond mud shooting out in all directions, smothering the flames, and unfortunately Holly.

Holly sighed and wiped the mud from her eyes. She glanced around and saw her helmet only a few feet away. She almost laughed. Almost. She picked it up and looked at it, it was filled with mud. She could hear the speaker gurgle then short out. Holly sighed again, thinking how worried and insulted Foaly must feel. She strapped the helmet to her moon belt and headed back to fetch her prisoner.

Kage: Thank you for reading. I know that I am bending reality slightly to make the whole grenade-mud-fire scenario work, but I think it was the best idea out of all the ones I had. Please review and tell me how I am doing so far. I know I'm a little rusty. I haven't written very much in the past few years, but I am very excited about this story. I really like the way it unfolded in my mind. I hope you enjoy it, and tell me what you think, what I need to improve on.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl.

Artemis opened his eyes to remember 'Oh yeah, I've been abducted', though when he tried to remember it in detail, he found it difficult. He guessed that the girl had drugged him to keep him unconscious during the move. He scowled, then sat up stiffly to look around and saw Butler still lying unconscious beside him. They were both lying on padded mats like the kind gymnasts use, only they were thinner and more dense, though remarkably comfortable. Artemis remembered collapsing suddenly, which most likely meant from an electrical current. Artemis felt along the base of his neck, and sure enough, there was a tiny whisker of an entena. But when had she planted the probe? Artemis thought for a moment, it was hard because it was all somewhat fuzzy, then realized that it must have been when she had him remember a portion of his suppressed past, giving him a headache. 'She did that on purpose!' he fumed silently. He'd been duped by a child.

Butler began to stir beside him, lifting first his head, then the rest f his body. "Are you all right, Artemis?"

"I'm Fine. But I can't say that I am happy with this latest development."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Artemis," came a voice from behind them "but I couldn't let you know how to get here…" the girl from Fowl Manor, whose name Artemis still didn't know, was wearing shorts and a blue Chinese silk shirt with a tall collar and overlapping sides in the front, both cut with the classic seam from the middle of the collar, across the chest to the side, though more exaggerated so that they formed a long leaf shaped gap at the center of the chest, with black frogs (that's what the artistic Chinese knot buttons are called, in English anyway. Just to make it clear) where it the two halves met. She stepped toward the two men. Butler rose to his feet, but Artemis was having some trouble. He couldn't entirely feel his legs, so Butler helped him up and kept him on his feet. "…and this is the only place I could as I promised."

"And what exactly is this place?" Asked Artemis as he looked around at the bare walls. They appeared to be made of a dark bluish colored cement and seemed also to have a metallic quality, but it was so faint that one questioned whether it was really there. Artemis didn't.

"My home." she said, leading them to the door she had entered from. The way she said it made your stomach hurt. "Follow me. I think you'll like the rest of the house better.

"Wait." Artemis intended to find out the girl's name before they went any further. "You have not said your name yet."

She turned with a little smile "that's a secret." she said putting a finger to her lips "call me whatever you decide."

Artemis was more annoyed than impresses. Things were getting complicated, Artemis had never named anything in his life, and he knew that giving her a numeric code name wouldn't do. The girl herself annoyed him too, the way she spoke with such cool arrogance. It gave you the impression that she were two different people, in the way her innocent child's body didn't fit her malevolent, intelligent eyes and the mind behind them. Your mind created the illusion of two different voices resonating as one to fit her two apposing dimensions. Butler look down at Artemis as he scowled after the girl, and found it difficult to not break out laughing, knowing exactly what he was thinking. The irony of it all was almost unbearable.

By now Artemis's legs were working fine and he followed the girl through the door she had come in through. Now, Artemis had seen some truly remarkable buildings in his life, but going from that tiny barren cube of a room to this, made this one, without a doubt, the most spectacular. Though as grand a statement as that is, it is difficult to describe what exactly it was he was seeing. This girl's "Home" seemed to be a mix between an ancient temple and a modern feat in architecture. Perhaps it was that juxtaposition that made it so profound, but they were so well integrated into each other, one was simply occupied with the beauty rather than interpretation. Artemis guessed that the closest the rest of the world could come to this was a billion dollar hotel, which at the time he thought it, was as ridiculous to him as it must seem now: it was about a light-year off. Artemis looked around, analyzing the style of its composition, intrigued by the array of identifiable influences. It was like a painting, and with his keen eye, Artemis was able to appreciate it, but because of his own experience with his mother isolating herself in her bedroom wallowing in insanity, and nagging thought that his father truly was dead, he understood how one's loneliness could seep into the building itself. And here he could see something intangible to those unacquainted with it. It seemed to hangs like dust over everything.

The girl walked to a long hard wood buffet against the wall, where Artemis noticed a ceramic dish, and in it, Anna's watch, a pair of earplugs and an assortment of other gadgets spilling comically over the sides. She opened a drawer in the buffet and withdrew two items.

Anna, as Artemis would eventually decide to call her, turned to them and explained "The place where we are going has more heat and pressure than any human can withstand. To counter that, I have invented a compound that will enable one to withstand those conditions. However, it requires at least twenty four hours to fully develop. It will not alter your appearance or compromise your bodily functions in any way, and I have run innumerous test on it to ensure neither of you will have a reaction to it." she handed them both what looked like a folded brochure.

"So," she continued, "during that time, while we are here, here is a map of the grounds. I believe it is self explanatory."

Artemis noticed another comical phenomenon; the map of the house showed two levels side by side, taking up most of the ten by twelve piece of semi glossy folded paper. All the rooms fanned out from the one labeled "Entrance Hall", which in real life was bigger than the ball room of Versailles, on the map was about the size of a quarter.

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Author's note: thank you again for reading this far. I am trying to get the chapters up as promptly as possible. I am hoping to be able to update at least once or twice a week, but it is hard because I have to send it all to usagi-chan because I don't have the internet. So if you like this story, and you appreciate Usagi-chan doing that for me, then be sure to read her stories and review. That may be a little hard for anyone who doesn't watch (or read) Inuyasha, but we have the same account, so if you review one of my chapters and say a quick thank you to her, I know she would be happy. But if you are looking for other stories that we have written, don't read "descending angel" just yet. I haven't exactly updated recently… at all. I need to find the flow of the story again, and quickly, I'm way past over due and I apologize to those who know what I'm talking about. I have an excuse though!

As for this story, I wanted to explain that when I give an explanation of something, like the way I did with the Chinese frogs, I wasn't trying to be condescending if you already knew what they were or if I do it any other time. I just wanted it to be clear. I would have felt really bad to have someone think "Huh? Frogs?". so if I do that in the future, please disregard it as paranoia.

There was also something that I wanted to ask of my readers. I cannot tell you how many stories (not fan fiction stories, but novels) I have read where the author is trying to be sneaky and give subtle hints about the ending, or puts in information that is needed to explain the ending in such an obvious way. And it happens all the time. I hate it; I call it the "moan factor". What I wanted to ask you was to tell me in the future if I do that. Not in a review, so that readers who read the reviews of others don't realize something they shouldn't have, or get the hint and start picking apart the chapter looking for the clue, but if you could e-mail me (Usagi-chan) and tell me, I could learn what is too much of a hint and get better at being more subtle. I'm not saying that this story has a lot of clues in it; it just drives me insane when I am reading a story and the author can't be original enough not to do something utterly cliché or obvious, and I plan not to do it to you.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis fowl. And that is a good thing, trust me. Evil laugh

Anna had shown them all the vital locations in the house, if you could call it a house, with all manner of statues and artistic endeavor. But it was only as Anna was leading them down a hallway supported by grand pillars that Artemis found a piece that he was willing to ask about, partially because there were so many, a few Artemis recognized. It was a three dimensional hologram of an angel lying against a great stone. It was so lifelike, that one almost thought they could see her breathing, but there was also something about her that captured the feel and romantic beauty of a painting. The only way that Artemis could tell that it was in fact a hologram and not a sculpture was that there was not a stone on earth with so fine a grain whose texture varied so much, even in the hands of a master. This new use of holograms seemed clever to Artemis and he asked "Whom is this piece by?"

"Me." Anna said lovingly looking at the angel, though a little shyly.

Artemis was genuinely impressed. Holograms were tricky (no pun intended). They always seemed to have a transparent quality when examined closely and depending on how clever you were at concealing the projector, whenever an object or a speck of dust came in front of the lens, it was only too obvious what it was you were looking at. But this one was perfect.

"I've done a few of the more mediocre pieces around the house, but this one is my favorite. Unfortunately, I haven't had as much time for such things as I would like." she continued as they walked once Artemis was done looking. "Most of the pieces in the house were done by members of my family, though some of them are copies of works on the surface as buying or stealing them would be such an ordeal. Raw materials are far easier to intercept before there are too many memories to erase."

Artemis stopped dead in his tracks as he realized the three of them were not on the same side of the equation. He grew angry once again, but kept it inside, preserving his unmoving vampire stare. Anna turned to see why he had stopped. "Just as you have planned for this venture? You said that you would return out repressed memories, taking them away would be no more difficult."

Anna looked surprised at first and then smiled. "I was planning on erasing your memories, but only the parts concerning me."

"Is that how it was the last time my memories were erased?"

"No, I already told you that I was not the one who erased the ones you are missing. You will still remember everything you are going to do and see, but it will be as if I were never there. You will believe that everything that happened and happens between the time you first saw me and the time you arrive safely back at Fowl Manor with the gold I have promised you, was your own ingenious idea. It will simply be as if I were never there."

Artemis wasn't one to have anything taken from him. Forgetting this girl would mean forgetting all the technology she possessed as well such as the whisker probe that had played a part in his abduction, even the sensation of being caught off guard had taught him not to underestimate his opponent and served as motivation. Any memory, to Artemis Fowl, could one day prove useful. And ironically enough, the way to get what he wanted in this situation was through mind games, his specialty. "In normal circumstances, I am accustomed to not being taken advantage of; though I recognize what little choice I have in the matter. (Just to establish himself as the victim). Might I suggest a wager?"

Anna's eyes lit up for a fraction of a second, then returned to her placid "I'm listening" expression. "All right."

"If I am able to guess your name by the time this mission of yours has come full circle, you must allow me to keep all of my memories."

Anna stepped closer to him and presented her hand, and smiled her own vampire smile. "Done." she said. It was like a dieing heart beat or the final tolling of a bell.

Artemis took her hand with equal venom, to Butler, the girl looked very silly against Artemis Fowl. Even if she could have given him a run for his money when he was twelve, she had less than no hope now he was sixteen. She may be good, but there was no beating the real thing. The two squeezed slightly tighter and shook slowly, barely up and down, then released their grasp.

"I truly wish you luck Artemis, but there is no way you can win."

Artemis was tempted to role his eyes in disgust. Apparently cocky banter was not limited to mud wrestling and cheap cartoons. "Is that so? Why would that be?"

"Because I don't exist." She replied "There is no information anywhere on earth that even alludes to my, personal, existence. Believe me I've looked. I've been looking for years, and if I found even the slightest hint, I destroyed it. My fingerprints and DNA are useless to you because there would need to be a match somewhere." she pulled at the skin on her left thumb, which miraculously stretched to three times its size. Memory latex "There isn't a single person who could tell you because they never knew it to begin with…or they forgot."

She paused, then finally said "And you can hardly rely on my childish overconfidence. I'm almost as good at your mind games as you are." her tone changed then to a more direct note. "'This mission' as you say will have come full circle in exactly fourty-eight hours from two hours from now. If it has not then we have failed, and if you have not guessed my name by the time that period is up, so have you." she continued seamlessly, but now seemed to hint that she sympathized with Artemis's position. "I will _allow_ you three clues. The last of which will be an answer to any question you find useful. But of course cannot be anything so direct as 'What is your name?'."

Artemis nodded, silently 'fair enough'.

"But in the meantime," she concluded "you must still decide what you are going to call me." and with that, she began leading them down the hallway once again.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six:

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl. However, I do own Anna, also known by her other name, so you take her from me without due credit, and you will suffer the consequences. Mwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (wipes away tear).

P.S. For those of you who were wondering, no, my name is not Anna. I just thought that that name would fit well in the story. You'll find out why he decides to call her Anna later.

Howler's Keep-

"Keep moving goblin." Said a familiar figure leading a familiar goblin down a not so familiar isle of containment cells. The goblin _was_ moving, the security guard who was leading him down the hallway was just a completely hopeless hero's little brother who had just been reassigned and had confused it with a promotion. It was Corporal Grub Kelp (if you hadn't already guessed), .and the inmate he was leading was none other than Fire hydrant boy himself.

Kelp had been on his best behavior ever since the last "Fowl incident", and for it, he had been assigned Howler's Keep as his new post, to test his skills as the commander had said. Which, as intended, had served to get the corporal excited about the most dreaded post in the district, but consequently violated the fairy code prohibiting the practice of torture. One could argue that poorly used banter didn't count, but they had never been in this position, had they? Fortunately for Fire hydrant boy, his cell was only a few more feet away.

The watchman by the cell door tipped his hat and muttered "corporal."

"Sir." Grub said stoically in return.

The guard punched them in, putting his body between them and the keypad. As the door opened, Kelp pushed his charge into the cell before him. He started to say something to the effect of "We have a new cellmate for you here Cudgeon." But only got past the word cell, when the smell of lotion overcame him. The fairy counsel had sentenced Cudgeon to fifty years in a high security environment, and as he had collaborated with goblins to commit the crime and had not gone completely insane, they saw nothing wrong in having him serve his sentence in their company. After all, Howler's Keep was about the "highest security" environment around.

Cudgeon turned and glowered at the two fairies as they entered. He was sitting on his bunk where he had been staring into the corner, and once he saw who was coming in he turned back around and continued to stare. Kelp uncuffed the goblin and left, not having breath to make one last unintelligible comment. Once the door was closed again, the goblin still stood and watched Cudgeon as he stared into his corner. Silently, still watching, the goblin moved to his own bed along the opposing wall. He sat down slowly, still staring with a faint grin playing across his face. He watched and licked his eyeball.

"Sulking?" The goblin's voice was surprising. He seemed cognizant, a trait seldom expressed by goblins. They rarely knew what they were talking about and always sounded a little stupid. The goblin grazed his tongue over his eyeball again and held Cudgeon's gaze. Cudgeon turned slowly, confused, and more than a little angry at being mocked. He stared daggers at the goblin, examining him as if there were some clues to his strange tone. After an uncomfortable moment, the goblin obviously wasn't going to talk, so Cudgeon finally asked, "What was that?"

" I said you were sulking. You've been trying to break out of here right? Hasn't worked?"

" You're offly smug for someone whose in here himself." Cudgeon said pointedly.

"I suppose that's true." He replied, examining the wall.

Cudgeon began to get angry. This guy was toying with him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The goblin's eyes turned first, to meet Cudgeon's, and his head followed, "Do you want to find out?" his permanent psychotic, toothy smile began to scare Cudgeon.

Cudgeon frowned. The goblin reached behind his ear and dug his claw like nails into the loosening skin, and he began to pull it off. It came away like a mask, making a horrible peeling sound as it came in one big sheet from the side of his neck to around his eye, stretching as it separated from the new skin, down onto his chest where it detached. Cudgeon felt sick. The layer of skin fell onto the floor, but the goblin still held something in his hand. The layer of shedding skin wrinkled around the peeled area. The goblin held out his fist and opened it to show a tiny computer chip. There was a moment of silence and a miniscule green light began to blink. It winked twice, then a holographic projection appeared above it. A fairy (or what looked like a fairy) with blue eyes and freckles appeared, and the recorded message began,

"Cudgeon, if you have received this message, then our goblin friend came through, and deserves your gratitude. I am willing to assist you in your escape from Howler's Keep in exchange for your services. I assume (her tone implied that she wanted Cudgeon to know she understood the circumstances) you are inclined to accept my proposal. This is what you must do: The right hand section of this device, the one opposite the projector, is detachable, and will send an electrical current through the security guard's body when it has made contact. Be careful not to touch the electrodes. The charge will paralyze him for one minute, no more." The hologram changed to an image of the keypad on the outside wall. "in that time you must dismantle the key pad outside. (The hologram illustrated,) place this chip on the one located inside. From there, follow the goblin; he knows what to do." The recording ended. Cudgeon was dumbfounded.

The goblin took the chip between his hands and separated the two halves.

"_What by the gods is going on_?" Cudgeon thought silently. He was thoroughly beginning to panic.

The goblin rose from his bed and moved to the middle of the cell. "Get over here."

Cudgeon rose obediently; this goblin had that effect. The goblin handed him the chip for the keypad outside. "So," Cudgeon asked, "How're we going to get the guard in here?"

The goblin's smile broadened. "Like this." He conjured a fireball into each of his hands, throwing the first at the wall and the next at the door to the cell, conjuring another fireball for the first he threw and then threw that one at his own bed. The goblin then grabbed Cudgeon by his prison uniform and shoved him to the ground. Almost immediately the door slid open and the guard leaped in, brandishing his buzz-baton "What's going on?" he demanded, "break it up!"

Cudgeon threw the goblin off him. He had been in prison for so long, fighting felt good. He punched the goblin in the shoulder as hard as he could, but felt him react with it, throwing himself backwards into the security guard. In the confusion, the goblin planted the other half of the chip on the guard's chest as he pushed himself back onto his feet. Cudgeon was a little disappointed that it was over. "Let's go." Barked the goblin.

Outside, the goblin dug his claws into the keypad and ripped the key panel clean off the rest of the device. He gave Cudgeon a look that insisted he hurry putting the chip inside. Cudgeon placed the chip on the one already inside just like the hologram had shown him. There was a moment's pause that seemed like an eternity because Cudgeon didn't know what to expect. Then, everything electronic in the entire prison, even the lights, went out all at once. Cudgeon jumped, but no one saw. In the pitch black, Cudgeon saw a small hovering flame, "follow me," it said.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl. Short sweet and redundant.

'_A name_,' Artemis mused in his head. What a dull burden. The girl was a… a/annnnnnnnn – uh Anna. (not that Artemis Fowl ever said uh, even in his head. It was simply the nanosecond of pause that brought him to the associated onomatopoetic sound.) '_There, that is a sweet girlish name_.' And thus he found the name Anna.

Eventually, the long passage in Anna's home came to a pair of enormous wooden doors. Artemis, having lived in a refurbished castle all his life, recognized their authenticity right away, and deduced them to be a thousand years old. Which was very old, even for a castle. The door worked by pulley system, which moved the crossbeam holding the door in place out of the way. On the door was a gold key hole where an old fashioned hey was meant to be placed. Carved and scorched black into the face of the door was a dragon, bending its body into a sideways figure eight, biting its own tail like a classic Celtic knot. Anna walked up to the door and took the little gold locket around her neck between her thumb and middle finger with her left hand, and with her right, she pulled the miniscule key from its niche. Anna let her locket fall back to her chest, and walked up to where 5the gargantuan medieval doors met in the middle. Anna stood on her very tippy toes, staring into the crack where the doors met as if she were looking for the keyhole for her tiny key. Artemis watched as the girl appeared to find what she was looking for, and slide in the gold key. The pulley system with its heavy ropes began to lift the cross bar, and the door swung slowly open until they stopped with a thud. Anna began walking again, but instead of going through the doors, she veered to the left where the door met the wall at the hinges. When the door opened, it had revealed the side of the door that was normally facing the wall. Anna ran her fingers along the far edge of the door, closest to the wall, and opened another door that immediately veered left, into the wall.

"Clever," thought Artemis as he were rewarding a child, which, in a way, he was. Anna was _only eleven years old_. When the giant double doors were closed, the smaller door would be facing the passageway, making it impossible to enter the passage, and when the giant doors were opened, they blocked the passageway from anyone who didn't know that the second door was there. Anna lead the way through the newly exposed door, followed by Artemis, and then Butler, though it was a tight squeeze and he had to turn sideways. The passageway was extremely dark for about fifty feet, but the Artemis could see a light illuminating where the passage hung a sharp right. When they turned, instead of coming to another door, the passage lead them directly into a transparent, dome shaped room with a ceiling where you could see the evening sky and large glass windows that stretched from ceiling to floor, leading out into the garden. Anna noticed that Artemis was staring at both the room and the garden with a slightly confused expression.

"What's wrong Artemis?"

"I had thought that this structure was underground."

"It is." Anna said looking fondly at the ceiling. "The sky is a Holographic projection of what the sky looks like now. You just tell the cameras up top what you want them to zoom in on, or locate with the computer telescope, and it shows you down here. It is also nice because each day is recorded until midnight, so if there is a particularly nice day, you can save it and play it whenever you want. There are other things you can project up there as well, almost like a giant virtualized screen saver."

"Are the plants Holograms as well?"

"Oh no, they're real." She replied almost offended as if she thought it low to have fake plants in one's possession. "There are emitters all over the face of the dome outside, wherever the sun is, the emitters give off light, radiation, etc, so you can even lie out there and get a tan if you wanted. It can create just about any kind of weather, wind, rain, fog, a dewy mourning. My father even came up with a way to replicate aroma."

Artemis thought amusedly at the concept of having a monkey dance across the sky and having the commonly occurring smell of peat marshes come wafting across the scenery. At that moment Anna handed him a small bottle of white lotion labeled exterior. "This is the compound I told you about earlier."

Artemis looked skeptically at the amount of solution. This was meant to cover his entire body?

"For any missed areas," Anna Explained. " In that room (she pointed, then hesitated), or maybe I should explain how it works first. It is actually an interesting substance. It acts like a solution, like water and cornstarch, but there is no water solvent, so it isn't a solution at all; the compound itself exists in a fluid and more structured state. Which is good because that eliminates the chance that the solution separate and come out of colloidal suspension, crushing your cells. That is also how you are sure your cells are protected, the compound diffuses throughout the body, into every cell, until the body has reached the saturation point, where any excess runs off. Now, this is what is interesting, when your cells reproduce, the compound diffuses into it, and fortunately, it takes very much less than the point of saturation for a cell to be completely protected so you can gain quite a bit of weight and still stand extreme pressure; and there is no threat of ever depleting your store of compound when you cells die because the compound has so much surface tension and coherent to itself that when, for example, a dead skin cell falls off your body, the compound releases the dead cell to stay with the main body. It's like you are protected by an eternal liquid shield."

"In that room over there, are instructions and the equipment for the application." She said motioning to the door. " When you are finished. (She led him over to a simulator machine on the other side of the room with a wrap around screen). This machine will show you glimpses of your past, but because so much time has passed, you will also need to use these. (She held up two electrodes) you simply press them to your temples. The compound you applied is versatile enough that it will not interfere with the micro-needles on their surface. These will send signals to the hypothalamus in your brain to create the emotions applicable to what you are seeing, so you are not only seeing what you have forgotten, you are reliving it."

Artemis had been skeptical from the beginning that this girl could force any memories back into him. It was always possible that his brain could reject any information or argument she could give as being simulated or false. The only person Artemis would ever truly believe was himself. But this, he admitted, was actually very clever. If she couldn't make him believe her, she would _make_ him believe her. However…

"This, of course, would recreate any memories I may have lost; if I am willing to trust that what you are showing me, I did in fact lose." He said pointedly "It could prove advantageous for you, if I were to remember something that would guide my actions in this venture of yours."

"It could". Anna confirmed. With that, she left to rejoin Butler.

Artemis scowled after her. She did it again. If anything he was going to stay to put her in her place. Artemis moved grudgingly to the door she had indicated earlier. Inside, he found a crude shower with a fine grate in the ceiling instead of a showerhead, which, of course, made sense. One would not expect to force quick sand out of a garden hose. This was no different. On a table against the wall beside the shower, there was almost a liter bottle of the same milky solution Anna had handed him labeled "exterior". Artemis moaned audibly. He deduced immediately what this amount was for, seeing a tall ceramic glass placed so innocently beside the large bottle.

Outside, Anna was preparing her workstation. She sanitized her utensils and the operation table; she washed her hands thoroughly for the typical minute, then she instructed Butler to lie down. Watching the eleven-year-old go through pre-surgical procedure made Butler seriously rethink his plans. If it had been Artemis he would not have hesitated, but Artemis wasn't a cute little girl and there was no guaranteeing that this girl was as much like Artemis as she seemed. Butler almost sighed, though thought better of it so as not to seem insulting. He lowered himself down onto the table and stretched himself out. Anna placed the sedative gas mask over his mouth and watched as Butler's eyes drifted shut. Anna reached over her shoulder and brought her long braid around in front of her. She slipped off the hair band at the end and let her hair unravel. It hung almost to her thighs. She was about to slip her hair band around her wrist for safekeeping, but hesitated then put it on the counter beside her computer monitor instead. Then, realizing that she had forgot something, looked down at her clothes. She sighed, frustrated with herself, but it was too late now. After washing her hands again, she turned to a strange machine shaped like a tweaked number seven. The machine stood at about four and a half feet tall, the base standing perpendicular to the floor and the head angling up at 120 degrees, coming about to Anna's stomach. Velcro straps dangled from the head of the seven. Anna used them to strap her left forearm, face up, to the underside of the head. She placed her right hand on the bottom on the side of the machine. She took a few deep breaths and pressed the button. After a second, the machine began to click uniformly every half-second, and with every click Anna grimaced more fiercely and ground her teeth in pain. When the machine was finished, Anna wiped a tear from her eye with her right forearm and unstrapped her arm from the machine. When she pulled her am away, there was a giant IV needle imbedded in her arm. Anna tried not to look, but she could already feel the flow of fluids into her arm.

Anna had constructed the machine solely for this purpose: to inject the IV needle. She knew she would not be able to do it herself, so she took an extra day and a half to plan and construct this single aspect of her much larger plan.

"At least it worked." She said softly to herself. She turned to the computer on the high counter beside her and pulled out the thin drawer where the keyboard was. She typed something in that registered in the gibberish on the screen, then, lifted the plastic covering over a big red button on the left hand side of the keyboard, pressed the button, and both she and Butler disappeared.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the room branching off from the lab, Artemis had finished ingesting (as he refused to call it "drinking") the unnamed compound and was now enduring the makeshift shower. This, he decided, was the sensation that nightmares were made of. The compound was of the most nauseating consistency, slimy yet somewhat sandy. It also coagulated in response to his swallowing, so it felt as though he were involuntarily swallowing whole dumplings. Letting the stuff run freely down his throat felt no better.

At the time, Artemis could feel the compound seeping into the walls of his esophagus, and now, in the other direction, he could feel the compound leaking its way into his pores. If Artemis had been able to feel his throat, he would have thrown up. He decided as he let the fluid ooze run over him that the girl had to die. Anyone who could put him in this much discomfort in such a short amount of time just simply had to die. He kept himself from frowning only out of fear that his face might stick like that.

After about ten minutes, Artemis felt suddenly better. It was extremely odd. When he held out his palm, the compound that gathered in it swirled around like milky water instead of sinking into his skin. Artemis took this to mean that his body was completely saturated and opted to get out. He dried off, got dressed, and headed back to the lab. When he opened the door, Butler and the girl were gone. Artemis decided that since he had trusted the girl this far, it would be foolish to be skeptical now. He went directly to the memory restoring device and seated himself in front of the screen. In a tray protruding below the screen was a pair of cordless headphones. Artemis put them on and then pressed the electrodes to his temples. The screen immediately came to life and the black screen faded slowly to static and then to an image of Fowl Manor.

Artemis watched as familiar places flashed on the screen and Anna's voice in the headphones dictated broken sentences and familiar names until he saw a tiny golden book with strange characters written in spirals across its pages. Then he heard Anna's voice say very clearly, "Carry me always. Carry me well. I am thy teacher of herb and spell." A chill ran down Artemis's spine as he pictured holding the book in his hands, seeing everything tinted green through night vision goggles. Anna's voice continued, "I am thy link to powers arcane. Forget me, and thy magic shall wane. Ten times ten commandments there be. They shall answer every mystery, cures, curses, alchemy. These secrets shall be thine through me. But, fairy, remember this above all: I am not for those in mud that crawl. And forever doomed will be the one who betrays my secrets one by one." While she spoke, an all too familiar oak tree appeared on the screen. Then a web posting by someone offering money to meet a fairy, momentary glimpses of old books with copies of classic realism paintings featured on their pages (Artemis remembered how excited he had been about the clues he found in those paintings, clues to something…) a dark alley appeared, a fire-escape, and a green haggard creature. He saw his mother's room with the curtain tightly drawn, and a close up of his mother's frantic features appeared on the screen in brief succession. Artemis's eyes widened and his mouth dropped slightly with fear and recognition. His ears went deaf for a moment as he was lost in blank thought, but then he heard "Holly Short" and he came immediately back. He saw a shimmer in the air, then an unforgettable face. (though he did) "Captain, L.E.P., Lower Elements Protection recon…" an image of a tiny human in a jumpsuit and helmet, holding an acorn in its open hand, and a hovering platform carrying literally a ton of gold appeared on the screen before him. "Fairy law, cannot enter, (an image of Fowl Manor surrounded by little people) "cannot escape time stop", accidental invitation, ogre" Artemis cringed. "trade for a wish-mother's sanity, escaped blue sweep…" Artemis smirked. "Boarding school, email: zdrarstrutye syn…" Artemis felt a pang in his chest. Even though the emotions he was feeling seemed real, they were changing so dramatically so quickly that he was stating to feel uneasy. "Opal Koboi, B'wa Kell, used fairies to get to Russia, Rescued father." All while Anna was talking, Artemis couldn't tell if the images were on the screen or in his mind. He saw everything. Every moment that he had lost came rushing back to him. He remembered buying his mother's sanity. He remembered holly diving into icy water to save his father. He was sitting helplessly in the snow. A knot started to form in Artemis's throat while Anna's voice continued. "last intended plot, C-cube, John Spiro, Lunch meeting" Artemis's heart started beating uncontrollably. _Oh God_, he thought. Anna continued. "Butler…". "No!" Artemis ripped the electrodes from his temples. The voice in the headphones continued "Mo-"Artemis dug them out of his ears with shaking ears and let them tumble to the ground. Artemis slipped out of his chair onto the floor and leaned against the back of his chair. He was shaking uncontrollably, drawing in shallow wavering breaths. He couldn't move his legs, his arms were limp and he couldn't close his hands, and he did even blink when a tear ran down his cheek. Each incident on its own had been almost more than he could handle. His mother, his father, and possibly the worst of all because it was all his fault, Butler. Artemis's head was swimming so fast he felt dizzy and nauseated. "These emotions aren't real, he tried to tell himself. They were synthesized and exaggerated so they would stick. But somehow, the person he had been, like a whisper in his mind was telling him that all of it was true. It made too much sense not to be. Artemis didn't know how long he was sitting there, but he assumed later that it had been quite a while. Eventually, Artemis gained enough composure to reflect on his new memories. That was when he heard Anna scream.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight:

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl period.

Inside the time-stop, Anna took a deep breath looking up at the comforting blue dome surrounding her workspace. She took another. Finally, she was alone again – except for the unconscious giant on the operation table in front of her, of course – but an unconscious giant couldn't stare at you the way Artemis Fowl could. Anna found it hard to calm her nerves thinking about that vulture's scrutinizing stare, so cold and condescending. He really wasn't the hero she had thought he was. A pained smirk pulled at the corners of Anna's mouth. _Waiting for a knight in shining armor were you, -------?_ Her face tightened, _silly me_. It was a despairing embarrassed shame.

Anna closed her eyes and stilled her body, halting her breath in her throat, then consciously, she released all the tension in her body letting it flow from her shoulders and her chest and her neck. She released the last of the air in her lungs, and as she opened her eyes, she wiped all irrelevant thought from her mind, like a whiteboard wiped completely clean. Anna turned to the computer and typed in another stream of symbols that appeared synchronously on the screen. When she pressed enter, a second translucent blue shape materialized, this one centered around the wounded area in Butler's chest. Unlike the dome around them, however, this one was inverted.

Despite what anyone might say, Anna truly was a genius. When something was impossible, that was when her mind worked the best. She measured all the possibilities what about magnetics? What about biotics, nanobiotics? What about radiation? What about time? Even Foaly insisted that it was impossible to move through time. Stopping time was simple, it meant capturing a single moment and holding it there. He put the possibility so far from his mind that he overlooked the most obvious example of exactly what he needed. The answer was so simple. Anna glanced at her telescope. Would a black hole work?

The structure of the time warp was extraordinarily complex. So very little is know about black holes to begin with, finding the right configuration for a black hole made of a magic barrier material to make it act like one made of nothing but gravity, needless to say, was difficult on a quantum scale. Finally, after draining her brain to the breaking point for the thousandth and a half time, she found a way to make it work. When the Time Warp appeared, Anna typed in three more symbols, then turned back to Butler and placed her tray of surgical tools and a tiny acorn on his bare stomach. She turned back to the computer and pressed enter. On the screen a countdown began, years, months, days, hours, minutes, seconds. The seconds, minutes, hours and even days were of little use for the first part of the countdown, whizzing by at the speed of sound, but the progress of the reversion had been set at a curve so in the end, Anna would be counting down the seconds to the starter buzzer. After a few minutes, Anna began to see definite changes in Butler's chest. She watched as in slow motion, Butler's wound reopened. Anna took up her scalpel and the buzzer rang. She had three minutes. Butler's wound was now in the state it was in approximately ten minutes after he had been shot, 25 minutes after the newsbreaking explosion at the En Fin restaurant in London. First, Anna widened the wound to expose the inside tissue. Next, she located and retrieved the bullet that had materialized in the wound. She placed it on the surgical tray and retrieved a magnifying glass and light in its place. She turned on the light and shown it into Butler's open wound, examining the tissue through the magnifying glass. She had expected to use most of her remaining time searching for the piece of Kevlar that had multiplied in Butler's chest the first time he had been healed, but there it was, easy as pie. But now it got much harder.

Ahead of schedule, Anna hit the control key on her keyboard, and the Time Warp began expanding, to encompass Butler's entire body. She had fixed his wound, now she had to fix the damage done in the healing process. When the reversion was complete, Anna took the tiny acorn from the stainless steal tray on Butler's stomach and placed it loosely in the mouth of the wound. Anna took a deep breath and her brows drew together in determination. She placed her hands on Butler's chest. She would succeed where Holly Short had failed, or die trying.

Artemis jumped to his feet and looked over to where Anna was flickering in and out of visibility. Artemis knew now that it was because she was so close to altering her state of consciousness. He watched in horror as glimpses of giant bolts of blue electricity arching around Anna's body, down her arms flashed before him. Anna grit her teeth as tears flowed down her cheeks, then disappeared again.

She was almost there. She was so close. She had held on for what felt like forever, and all she felt was pain. She gave it absolutely everything she had until she was absolutely drained, and then she let go.

The few moments of silence had felt like forever to Artemis. He had stumbled his way to the operation table, and waited with his heart in his throat for any sign of what was going on. His mind automatically tried to make sense of the situation on its own. Why would she use a time stop? It seemed clever to him somehow, but he didn't know why. Was that magic? How could a human learn to use magic? That's impossible.

His thoughts were cut short as once again Anna's figure began to flicker in and out of being again. But in the glimpses that Artemis was able to see, something happened. Anna's hair started to grow at an accelerated rate. Her legs got longer, and it seemed as if her body was maturing by a number of years in only moments. Anna screamed again, and Artemis listened as it changed from a high ringing to a more full forceful sound. The arcs of blue magic began to thin as Anna with her eyes still squeezed tightly shut came completely back to the present and collapsed limply onto the floor, unconscious.

Thank you for reading. Please review and tell me what you though or if you have any questions about the story. For example: at the beginning of this chapter where Anna was scolding herself in her head for being naïve. She says "Waiting for a knight in shining armor were you." And then there is a ------. Anna actually says her name there, her real name, but I couldn't let you see that now could I? I love the power of editing! All hail cruel irony! Mwah ha ha ha ha!

Really, please review!

I think that I am going to change the genre of this story in the search thingy, not right now, but later. There were just too many categories that this story fit into, science fiction, fantasy, adventure, romance. I think I will end up saying it is Fantasy Adventure, so if you can't find this story in the regular place, look there.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl.

Artemis dropped to his Knees and reached for Anna's shoulder, but he hesitated and instead pressed his fingers to her neck to find a pulse. A soft pulsing told him that she was alive. Artemis's heart calmed slightly. He then took shoulder and straitened her body out from the uncomfortable way it was lying and brought her mouth up to his ear. He felt a whisper of breath. Artemis exhaled and lowered Anna back onto the floor with her hair strewn all about her. It was amazing how much she had changed. Her mature features implied that she had aged to about fifteen or sixteen, five years. Her skin was no longer the soft peach skin it had been. It was now still youthfully soft, but stronger, with the delicate sheen of perspiration. Her features were more defined and elegant, and the muscle under her skin was more pronounced unlike the lean yet fleshy, weak body of a child. She was much taller and had filled out.

Artemis froze unintentionally. It had not been obvious at first as Anna's hair, fanned out on the floor now reaching her ankles, had wrapped around her masking the fact that she had outgrown her clothes from the inside out. Her shirt now ended at her ribs and the frog-buttons had come undone down past the now very tight bust, revealing the taught shape of a white cotton undergarment. Her shorts now hung low on her hips, split slightly at the side, and the metal button had come off and the zipper slightly undone. Another strip of taught white cotton stretched across her hip.

Artemis brow contorted into a frown that said _why me_? He started to take off his dark school coat then saw the needle in Anna's arm. As Anna had aged, the skin had grown around the monserous needle so that now it was embedded firmly in her forearm. Artemis looked around and found the scalpel on the stainless steal tray on the counter. He used it to cut a long strip out of his white cotton shirt which he folded into a small square. Artemis untied his school tie and tied it firmly but not too tightly around her forearm, then carefully started to work the needle out, covering the injection site with the cloth to keep the skin from stretching and to catch any blood. When the needle was out he let it drop to the floor then slipped the tie down over the cotton bandage to keep it in place and tightened it. There was only a little blood. Artemis took off his coat and put it on the girl. Then he reached around under it to her back and ripped the cloth of her silk shirt further than it already was along the seam running up the back. Higher on her back, he unfastened the clasps to her bras. Immediately, she started to breath more freely. Artemis lowered her gently to the ground again though he really wanted to chop off his hand.

He was surprised to see how small she really was, not short, but small. Even when she was a child she had seemed much bigger and powerful than she must have been. It was the way she walked and the way she looked at you. Artemis stared down at her, sitting on the cold white tile floor. It was all so confusing. He thought it best to wait for Butler to reappear and wake up. As of now, Butler was still stuck in the past. Artemis could only hope that the lifespan of the time stop was short.

The time that Artemis had to wait seemed to drift by in daze. The entire time, he sat there on the floor with one knee pulled up to his chest, resting his elbow on his knee and the side of his chin on his fist. He didn't even notice that Butler had rematerialized until he heard a gruff moan and saw the body guard struggle to sit up. The acorn that Anna had placed on Butler's wound had grown to form a mesh of roots and a tiny sapling that slid off his chest as Butler sat up. "ooooff," Butler moaned the onomatopoetic sound of stiffly getting up in the morning as he sat up on the table.

Artemis looked at him. He looked exactly the way he had the morning he had been shot – aside from his hair, but unlike last time his hair was only about half an inch too long. Artemis sat silently looking up at Butler until Butler's gaze in return became concerned.

"How are you doing, old friend?" Artemis asked in an empty voice.

"I feel fantastic," Butler replied jubilantly "Better than ever." His gaze finally came to rest on Anna. "Artemis, what happened?"

Artemis looked down at the unconscious girl as well. "I don't know. It is possible that she was somehow able to use her own life force in place of yours in the healing process. You do not remember, but something similar happened the last time as well." Artemis faded into numbing thought and then recovered. "It truly is amazing."

"I don't understand, Artemis. How long have I been out? Who is she? She can't be the same girl as before." Butler was becoming truly concerned.

"You were healed by magic-" Artemis said rising tiredly to his feet.

"Magic!?" Butler blurted.

Artemis began again slowly, "Forgive me, Butler. This may be very selfish of me but I am inordinately tired. You were indeed healed by magic. Fairy magic. No time has passed, and this is indeed the same girl who brought us here. I may explain further another time, but now, if you would be so kind, I would like to sleep." Butler said nothing more. Artemis motioned to the girl lying on the floor. "Would you please carry her? I remember the way back to our rooms."

Butler obediently picked the girl up, then, glancing at the sapling on the operation table, snatched it up as well before taking his place alongside Artemis as they walked back they way they had come. It was a long walk back to their rooms. Simply being in Butler's comforting company seemed to raise Artemis's spirits slightly. The two had known each other for so long they could communicate without ever speaking, when Artemis would make a short statement, Butler would comment in reply, then they both would fall silent again, but towards the end Artemis loosened up and his comments became more frequent and less monosyllabic. Butler on the other hand, though he was still light hearted and content, he was beginning to feel the effects of the long day. When they reached Anna's room and Butler had placed her in her bed and tucked her in like only a giant scary monster could do, he told Artemis that he was going to their own room.

"Very well, Butler," Artemis replied. "I'll join you there shortly, but I think I will try and find out what I can about the girl while the opportunity remains."

_Always the businessman, Artemis_. Butler thought it slightly underhanded to figure out the girls name while she lay unconscious, but Artemis never liked to lose.

"Though I doubt very highly that she has left anything for me to find."

Butler's face was unreadable. He nodded, and excused himself from the room. For a long moment, Artemis stood silent at the foot of the bed, staring at Anna, thinking. He turned to investigate a desk against the wall to his right. The desk was organized and orderly, only a small pile of papers lay askew on the desktop. The papers were obviously used, distorted slightly from handling, the hand drawn information on them fading. Each page was cramped with notes and diagrams that Artemis could have figured out if he had set his mind to it, but for now set them aside and let them remain enigmatic – like a genius professor's chalkboard. Artemis searched meticulously through every item on the desktop, then opened the first drawer on his left. All he found there was a large poetry anthology where on different sections Anna had underlined or commented on the lines she thought more eloquent. One page was dog-eared, and obviously more frequently visited than all the rest.

Where dips the rocky highland

Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,

There lies a leafy island

Where flapping herons wake

The drowsy water-rats;

There were hid our faery vats,

Full of berries

And of reddest stolen cherries.

_Come away, O human child!_

_To the Waters and the wild_

_With a faery, hand in hand,_

_For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand._

Where the wave of moonlight glosses

The dim grey sands with light,

Far off by further Rosses

We foot it all the night,

Weaving olden dances,

Mingling hands and mingling glances

Till the moon has taken flight;

To and fro we leap

And chase the frothy bubbles,

While the world is full of troubles

And is anxious in its sleep.

_Come away, O human child_

_To the waters and the wild_

_With a feary, hand in hand,_

_For the world is more full of weeping than you can understand._

Where the wandering water gushes

From the hills above Glen-Car,

In pools among the rushes

That scarce could bathe a star,

We seek for slumbering trout

And whisper in their ears

Give them unquiet dreams;

Leaning softly out

From ferns that drop their tears

Over the young streams.

_Come away, O human child_

_To the waters and the wild_

_With a feary, hand in hand,_

_For the world is more full of weeping than you can understand_.

Away with us he's going,

The solemn-eyed:

He'll hear no more the lowing

Of the calves on the warm hillside

Or the kettle on the hob

Singing space into its breast,

Or see the brown mice bob

Round and round the oatmeal-chest.

_For he comes, the human child_

_To the waters and the wild_

_With a feary, hand in hand,_

_For the world is more full of weeping than he can understand._

There were no comments on any part of the poem, but down below, to the right where it said "William Butler Yeats: 1865-1939", Anna had written: _she_.

"Hmm." Artemis murmured. Anna must have some sort of connection to the fairy world, or she would not have been able to use magic. Perhaps in the time that he had been out of touch with the fairy community, this girl had discovered them, and apparently, a few more of their secrets than even he was able to procure. Of course, Artemis had not been after the fairies magic itself. He thought of Butler. Perhaps he should have been.

He set the book back in the otherwise empty drawer, and shut it. The other drawers were filled with packed manila folders. Each folder for a certain subject, and the subjects ranged from everything from Italian architecture to quantum physics. Artemis didn't bother, he simply looked at the titles themselves, written on the protruding tabs, and tried to find some connection between them. Astoundingly, there was no folder titled "Fairies" or "The People" or anything of the sort. _Where would she keep that_? Artemis wondered. Someplace safe. Someplace hidden, where no one would think of looking, or couldn't look. Perhaps _in_ a safe?

Artemis started with the walls. He was working purely out of curiousity. Even if he found the safe, he had no way of opening it. And even if he was able to open it, there was most likely an alarm. He couldn't risk it, not with absolutely no route of escape and no idea where he was. Artemis looked along the wall very closely, for some sort of variation in texture, he guessed that that would be where it would be hidden by camfoil. As he looked at the wall though, he became suddenly aware of a painting hanging on it. It was "Forest of Faeries", the famous painting by Arthur Rackham. Artemis was dumbfounded. It was not possible, that painting was on display at the Louvre in Paris, and impossibly well gaurded. He knew; He had been planning to steal it himself. Artemis stared at the painting, astounded, but the more he looked, the more he saw slight deviations in style, uncharacteristic strokes, places this artist had payed more attention to where Rackham had skillfully glided through; and in the bottom right hand corner where a signature was meant to be, the paint had been scraped away. Artemis smiled. He turned and said to Anna sleeping in her bed, "Well played." He had been right, she really had left nothing for him to find.

Artemis looked back at the painting. It was almost perfect; she had talent. He could see why she varied where she did, a few techniques she didn't quite understand. Then in other places, she had deviated intentionally, like elaborating on a beautiful poem, changing some of the words to make it say something slightly different. It was a very raw and shaky attempt, but Artemis could see what see was getting at.

Artemis noticed another frame on the wall farther down. He moved to see it, but when he did, his jaw dropped. The painting on the wall reached out and seized him with its colors and drew him into the scene. The dimensions of the piece made it seem to him that the only thing that was truly real was held within the edges of that frame. The painting, like the last one, was of the woods, but somehow with every stroke of the brush, this one was alive. One felt like he could reach out and feel the trees here breathing, and yet, they felt so far away as if when you did reach out for them, they would escape you like a mirage or a tendril of smoke. And somehow you didn't want to touch it. There was just something about it that made the scene so fragile like the tendril of smoke holding on for as long as it could before it inevitably had to fade away. Thus, one simply stood there and looked. This painting, for those who could open their eyes and see it, said without ever saying – it made you feel – the existence of faeries. There was not a single fairy painted on that canvas, but somewhere in the trees, in the shadows, watching, but so very far away. It was like music – A beautifully forgotten fairy song.

The lighting was magical. The composition was profound. The whole scene was alive and warm with the boldness of the dancing strokes like fire, yet cool and still and immortal and eternal like the strokes like rain, and intricate and strong like wood, yet there was air here in this painting, so one could breathe. Only then did one see the human technique; it was in how the different styles fit together like connect-the-dots _where the lines came first_, and intersected _to make the dots_. The human came out of the earth, as one was now reminded was true by the sense of being whole again.

If one had to speak of technique, then here it was more than flawless or rather was more than technique. It was so pure and honest an emotion that there were no mistakes in its execution. Throughout time, technique itself had been imperfection. Technique was always a way of capturing a certain emotion and spreading it across a page. Thus inevitably, as it spread from canvas to canvas it became thin, paint deep. As it was in architecture, in drama, in dance, in poetry. Yet now, someone had changed the stencil that writ the endless sonnet and had made it write something beautiful, something truly eloquent. It has happened in history before, but it is so rare. Even if the artist was the most helpless of beginners it was possible to feel something so strongly with such vehement that skill was of no consequence, they simply painted what they felt. No. They let it flow from them, a pure and complete piece of their soul. No! A new soul – all its own; and the piece then gained its own heart beet. It was just like her other piece, the angel. With both of them, you could feel their presence like a human soul. While you were seeing them, they were seeing you. That's all they could do. All they could do is be, and look out at you. For those who could see, for those who could feel this, for those who understand art, like the artist – and a thief like Artemis.

Artemis remembered the angel and it all made sense now. It had been odd, and so intriguing to him that she had used a hologram the way she did. Very few, if any, would have found that kind of significance in a cold, functional tool the way she did. It was just like this piece. How could it say what it did so plainly when there was no confirmable reason to believe that it said anything? But that is what art is isn't it? The ghost in the machine.

Artemis broke away from the painting and trudged his way sluggishly to an armchair beside Anna's bed. He placed his forehead in his hand and stared at the floor with his beautiful, weary blue eyes. He was so tired, and his brain was throbbing from every overwhelming event that had happened to him that day.


End file.
